


Kitsune Tails

by Valentine20xx



Category: Naruto
Genre: Female Haku, Mizuki Discovered Before Graduation, Multi, Rearranged Teams
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2020-09-06 21:02:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20297893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valentine20xx/pseuds/Valentine20xx
Summary: They planned to find a traitor and deal with upcoming issues with the team assignments. What they didn't expect was what actually happened, or the unbreakable bonds that would form as a result, or how much one simple mistake would destroy a plan devised over centuries...





	1. Iruka's Plan

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Naruto © Shonen Jump, Viz Media and Masashi Kishimoto, and is used without permission.
> 
> Obviously, this story is an alternate universe. However, this is more of one than most, in that some elements, like Kaguya and Datara will exist in the narrative in some way, but the nature of the tailed beasts themselves will be changed, sometimes irrecoverably. This is due to the fact some of the 'animals' they are barely qualify as such, and the power scaling is all over the place. One major change is that the term 'tailed beasts' will be a misnomer, since some of them have something other than tails which are divided into multiples.  
Also, I will admit that I will be using some elements of accepted fanon in a unique manner, and I intentionally did the pairings how I did...

_The story of Datara, a strange story in itself, has long divided intellectuals. Apparently the modern take on the creation myth, Datara is considered to be the most powerful entity in the known world. The accepted version of events is that, according to writings from the time, A young woman found a tree which had a strange connection to life. Eating the fruit which grew from said tree gave her the capability to awaken the force known nowadays as chakra, and placed her and her ancestors in an eternal debt to said tree for gifting her use of chakra._  
_However, a small group of scholars see the story as ridiculous, and a corruption of one of the original creation myths. Later texts, they point out, refer Datara to be somehow the Ten Tails, a misnomer due to a faulty translation of texts talking of nine Beasts, some texts referring to them as Gods, others as Demons. This brought about a second aspect of historical record, that the creation of said Beasts was out of Datara's chakra, broken off and moulded into nine demons, the ninth having half the power of Datara, the eighth a quarter, and so on.  
_ _But this lead to o_ _ne particularly nasty part of the story of Datara, that has caused a lot of contention, where it speaks of the young woman consulting Datara since the people were deadlocked in seemingly endless war. The conflict was ended when every single participant's chakra was reclaimed, due to being abused as a tool of war. What worries people in the modern day is that we seem to be falling into a second conflict equal, maybe even worse, than that legendary conflict. What is there to stop Datara reclaiming all our chakra?_

While most of the time, team assignments involved a secret set of criteria, with the only part known being that the worst student was commonly partnered with the best two students in their year, as part of an attempt to encourage them to learn off their peers, and to encourage the best two students to aid their weaker colleague to improve, this year was entirely and shamelessly political in how the team assignments were. The sons and daughters of some of the greatest ninja the village had ever trained were all in that year.  
Already, the Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi family's heirs were training in a way that was a pre-built team, and they shamelessly just had to pick the leader for the second coming of Ino-Shika-Cho. The rest of the teams however were causing a problem. Namely the stock 'Best with Worst' team was looking to be a disaster in the making, in that it would be Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. The issue was that Iruka had seen how Sasuke and Sakura 'worked' with Naruto, and knew that, when the team assignments happened, Naruto would be left in the dust, if not worse.  
It would be an even bigger car crash incident than Team Minato, where Obito Uchiha saw Kakashi Hatake as a bitter rival, both in skill and love, and ended up only, at the very end, redeeming himself, but the team was never the same again, literally torn apart by the mistakes inherent in the team selection process. Which brought them to that day, with Iruka sitting down with the people who in a couple of years would be tasked with cleaning up the shortcomings the academy training system had, and that meant they needed to nip this problem in the bud NOW.  
"Why have you summoned us here?" Kurenai asked, as Kakashi and Gai glared at each other across the room. Gai would be getting his team early, his focus member being Rock Lee, who she could tell would be practically Gai's adoptive son before long. Not that anyone would mind at first.  
"In a year or two, you will be assigned teams based on the current intake, many of them hugely political in nature. We're literally looking at what Sarutobi hopes to be our successors as Konoha's vanguard..." Iruka stated, showing twelve pictures which were placed on the wall, in sets of three, "Kakashi, You're pipped to end up with Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno,"  
"I don't see it..." Kakashi admitted, "Sakura's scores are baffling. The amount of effort she puts into her work sometimes is abysmal, but she's also top kunoichi. She'd be dead weight for me, and Naruto… We're looking at Team Minato 2.0, and likely the same result. Hell, I was the one to watch that team self-destruct from within. The fact about Naruto's special status means that, if it does turn into that, the results will be an outright disaster. I can't go with that with how they are right now, I'd support ripping up the Top-Top-Bottom if that's what it'll give me,"  
"OK, Ino-Shika-Cho, that's a guaranteed slam-dunk perfect team..." Iruka stated, Asuma nodding, "Which brings us to Team Gai and Team Kurenai, and I might as well work in a fireworks factory than deal with this screw-up… We put Neji on the same team as Hinata, and it's suspected that Hinata would end up dead, either due to being driven to suicide or a deliberate act by Neji. He might be loyal to the village, but his cousin… He's gone on record as stating he wants her dead."  
"I wish to state that, and this doesn't get beyond this room..." Kurenai began, everyone nodding, "Kiba has been reported to the Hokage due to a problem with how Inuzuka mating practices work. I suspect that a weak-willed girl like Hinata… We'd find her with her pants down, Kiba having practically forced himself on her. Hiashi would be angry if that was found, and would be ordering heads to roll if she got pregnant. And Kiba is itching to start..."  
"Which means we need to find some way to mix up these teams, and quickly, because we don't want to have our clan heads declaring blood feuds..." Iruka stated, "Since Kakashi doesn't want to deal with his current setup, I'm thinking of switching out Sakura right now, put her in your team, Kurenai. She's scored phenomenally well on chakra control, and would be a perfect person for genjutsu or medical fields. She's not suited for direct combat, but pure support,"  
"And in Team 7, she'd support Sasuke even if he used something like my Chidori during a practice session. She's a Uchiha fangirl, and all of those are volatile near him," Kakashi offered, "For my team to work, we need a neutral party to defuse what is a bomb waiting to go off much more than someone who'd just stoke the fire..."  
"Which I'm thinking either Tenten or Hinata, who are both very much neutral. And I have the perfect way to test out the teams, shuffle them and get a real idea how to deal with any issues that might come up in the next couple of years..." Iruka stated, "I'm going to pitch to Sarutobi that we effectively do some E-Rank missions..."  
"E-Rank missions? We don't have an E-Rank in missions..."  
"Some of the D-Rank missions, like painting fences, walking dogs, helping at the warehouses and checking training grounds for lost equipment… Boring as hell for any ninja," Iruka stated, all of them nodding. Those D-Rank missions used barely any skill, and were often rejected after two or three times. They were more community outreach than serious missions.  
"We create a category, E-Rank missions, which are jobs that earn the students some money, but almost no-one else truly wants to deal with," Iruka stated, noticing everyone's hand go up, "Right, Unless that's voting to make Tora into a C-Rank mission or higher, put them down right now, We're not that cruel,"

A few hours later, Sarutobi studied the fleshed out plan with the Jounin.  
"So, Certain D-Rank missions will be reclassified as Mundane Utility Tasks or E-Rank Missions. We'll find some other easy missions to pad out the D-Rank classification, like doing a patrol of the village boundary, or shadowing the guards on duty," Sarutobi mused, "Now, I have to ask, how will this help in team assignments..."  
"One week in the next few months, we'll set aside a Friday, as well as the following two days for the missions themselves, for a special team-building exercise," Iruka offered, "These time periods are where E-Rank missions are completed, earning them pocket money, and making Mundane Utility Tasks into a nice distraction from the Academy. Also, it would give them great standing with the community, since the young ones are already helping them,"  
"And we'd be seeing things done quicker and more often, since those who aren't permitted to go out of the village yet instead do things around the village," Sarutobi agreed.  
"We'll pitch the class we're testing against one of equal skill in sparring matches, with those who do the best getting free selection from the E-Rank missions, the worst getting whatever's left over after that. Team selections will be up to the students, and the Jounin will be there to purely watch. The teachers will have final say on what's going on..." Iruka finished.  
"What if there's a problem with one of the teacher's decisions?" Gai asked, "I'm not just going to sit there and take notes while Lee is taunted over his limited skill set!"  
"That's actually why you're there," Iruka explained, holding up his hand to stop them interrupting, "This doesn't go beyond this room. I have been accused repeatedly of favouritism with Naruto Uzumaki, just because I have been allowing him to take classes and keep asking about why Naruto isn't in class,"  
"That isn't favouritism, that's them attempting to sabotage Naruto!" Kakashi snapped, "No wonder he's scraping the bottom rank..."  
"So I'm expecting that one or more the other teachers in the academy _will_ attempt to push their own agendas, planning to have him earn the worst of the E-Rank missions as a best case, worst case end up expelled or dead," Iruka finished, "He'd definitely not come out of any team-building exercise with a good team if they did it unfiltered..."  
"If they do attempt something like that, your _notes_ will be perfect for sending to Ibiki Morino to give them exactly what they deserve," Sarutobi stated, "If I was to sit in on a week of Naruto's classes, there would be some problems on the first day, then they'd be on their best behaviour, and nothing would be found out. If we set up a pilot program that they _want_ Naruto to be seen in the worst light with..."  
They all smirked. A perfect ninja plan. While, on paper, it was a typical team building exercise, what it was in actuality was a way to root out traitors _and_ form much stronger teams than usual. Yes, he didn't like having to use the students this way, and if it went beyond harassment of Naruto, it would be a political nightmare, but it wouldn't be him or the Jounin who would get it in the neck.  
He'd just let the angry clan heads know who made unauthorised changes to the exercise, and see who marched them to the execution block first. The idiots who were engaging in open sabotage of a ninja's career would be in deep trouble whatever happened, since the entire thing was being monitored up and down the line.

The corruption was clearly worse than Iruka thought, when he got the first change, being that the opposing team would be a class from a year above them. This, along with several others, were penned in by Mizuki, one of the most contentious teachers within the academy. There were suspicions he'd been 'bought', something Iruka hadn't been able to believe, and was shocked when he found he was one of those spreading the worst lies about Naruto among his friends and workmates, and had helped organize some of the efforts to stymie Naruto's development.  
The idea over the opposing team was found to be acceptable by Sarutobi and Iruka after some discussion with the Jounin, giving a level of challenge that would help with the secondary goal of improving the team assignments, as well as allowing Gai to observe his future team. However, the other choices were much less altruistic and had not been approved.  
The first unapproved offer was a supposedly impartial judge, who'd be checking weapons were training ones, but he'd ended up unable to work as a judge for the exercise, due to an appointment with Ibiki Morino, due to suspicions he'd been taking payments from someone to look the other way at key moments. Iruka had to step in to do the essential checks, which also covered the use of techniques that could easily be made into a killing blow.  
The second was that they would be tested on individual exercises, then judged in teams formed by a panel of their teachers, with the jounin only supervising the latter part. That removed key oversight that both Sarutobi and Iruka couldn't accept due to the risk.

Iruka didn't know how someone like him could have got so bitter and vengeful, but he knew Mizuki was digging his own grave, the other teachers who would fill out the judging panel likely to walk out of T&I with just a hefty fine. But the date was set, and he felt he'd got rid of the most blatant acts of treason, a stack of the soon-to-be-reclassified missions sat next to him as the students filed in.  
"Now, we are going to be starting a pilot program from today..." Iruka declared, holding up his hand for silence, "Currently, even on the busiest days, some missions never get assigned, like searching the training grounds for lost weapons. If this program goes ahead successfully, these simple, easy tasks, that are beneath far too many of the ninja as far as they are concerned, will be assigned to students still in the Academy as a form of quick, easy money,"  
"Would we get full mission pay?" Shikamaru asked, genuinely surprised they were actually _getting_ missions.  
"We cannot confirm the fact at this time," Iruka replied, "You would take home the same amount as if you did the mission normally as part of your final team, but outside of that, we are still looking into how missions are normally paid to see how much these would need to offer. For now, we will be doing a team-building and skills testing exercise, with the rank at which you place getting you to choose which one of these missions will be done by you and those you work with today. From today, we hope each of you will know your graduation team..."  
He then walked out, heading to an adjoining classroom, and frowned as he repeated most of what he'd just said to the group in front of him. He refused to call it a class, most of them looking like they'd already graduated months, if not years before.  
"Now, I don't know your skill level, so Mizuki hopefully gave you a skills test. Shortly, I will give you each an interview based on his information," Iruka stated, "When you've done with the interviews, Please go into the room assigned for today's activity..."  
No-one told the 'students' that a pair of ANBU were hidden in the room and Ibiki had the room also bugged. By the end of the day, over half the class would be in ANBU cells, having inadvertently admitted to being hired mercenaries, with Mizuki's hand all over this. In between interviews, he claimed that he needed to take a break, before he body flickered into Ibiki Morino's office.  
"We have enough evidence right now to have Mizuki up on a raft of charges," Ibiki stated, "Continue as you are, He'd make a break for it if he thought that we knew he was a traitor."  
"Do however let Sarutobi know we've found one of the ringleaders for the anti-Naruto sentiment in the village," Iruka stated, then body-flickered towards Ichiraku, walking into the room where Mizuki was waiting with his take-out box. The interviews were finished, then the exercise could begin.  
'_Who bought you, Mizuki? Why would one of my best friends turn into a bitter traitor like this...'_ Iruka wondered, scrawling out a note which he handed to the Jounin...  
'Mizuki is a confirmed traitor. Observe for any others who may have been turned by him,' The note read, a discreet flame jutsu disposing of the evidence once it had been discussed. They'd finished the secret task of this exercise, now they hopefully could sit down and get on with the _real_ task.


	2. The Perfect Storm

Tenten knew something was up. First, she'd been briefed by Mizuki that they'd be working with some people brought in as part of a pilot program. When Iruka came in, he initially showed signs he was aware of the fact that people had been brought in for this exercise, then he took her aside for an interview. He first showed her a random cross section of the people who were in the room, both her class and those Mizuki had brought in.  
"Tell me honestly, Are you fully aware of who all of these people are?" Iruka asked, and she shook her head, "On the back of anyone you cannot trust, please sign your name,"  
Later, she mused, she was thankful she'd not been given a picture of Neji Hyuga to sign. Even if she had, until then, thought she knew him, she had doubts about him due to the things he muttered about. After that day, she realised that she'd not actually known the real Neji Hyuga at all, just the facade he'd put up after the Hyuga affair.

When she got into the other room, she noticed something odd. One of the students, who she recognised as Uzumaki Naruto, a notorious prankster, didn't have anyone with him. She went to Mizuki to ask about the reasoning.  
"Don't worry. All the team assignments were drawn up beforehand, based on the standard criteria," Mizuki told her, an almost rehearsed statement, unnerving her immensely. She went to Iruka next, hoping he'd be able to show her the list, allaying her fears.  
"Mizuki, Can I have a look at the team assignments?" Iruka stated, Mizuki looking worried. If it hadn't have been for the message earlier, he'd just think it was due to a paperwork error.  
"I'll be finalizing them with the Jounin shortly," Mizuki stated, "Leave me alone. I get enough from the students. This whole idea of yours is a logistical nightmare..."  
"Tenten, go talk with the other students, see if anyone else has approached Mizuki about Naruto..." Iruka hissed, "I think that you can guess what's really going on..."  
Tenten then knew. Naruto didn't have a team assigned _at all_, and was intended to be beaten like a drum as he discovered '_no one_' would team with him.  
She could see it now. Naruto beaten and bloody, with Mizuki telling him he shouldn't have ever tried to be a ninja, and that no-one was here for him. Looking round for any signs someone else got the same response, She saw Hinata Hyuga sat looking disappointed and sat with her.  
"Let me guess… '_All the team assignments were drawn up beforehand' _despite this being a free-for-all exercise where teams are flexible...'" She began, Hinata nodding, "Mizuki's stonewalling anyone who wants to team with Naruto, which is suspicious as hell. Look, I'm projected to be Neji's teammate as well as Lee's. Tell you what. You and me go to the Jounin with Naruto, he can sub for Gai today, while you sub for Neji. If it works out, the Jounin would definitely put you with Naruto if you were to ask,"

Her expression lit up like a New Year's firework. The Jounin approved the team immediately, thankful someone _finally_ was asking the right questions.  
"Naruto is projected to be working with Sasuke and Sakura. Unfortunately, they decided to join up with Kiba without telling me beforehand," Mizuki tried, "It was an unfortunate mistake..."  
"This exercise was organized specifically since the assignment of both Naruto and Hinata were diplomatically unwise..." Asuma drawled, "Are you telling me you decided to keep that team assignment active, when it was specifically called out about in the discussion?! That would be a drag..."  
"Anyway, We have already approved this unconventional team," Kurenai stated, looking towards Gai, "Would you mind if we poached one of yours..."  
"I'll tell you what. This gives me the opportunity to do something I've wanted to for a while! Lee! I have a challenge for you. Prove to me that you can fight everyone in this room with no backup!" Gai called, for Lee to respond with a rambunctious, "Yes, Sensei!", Gai declaring, "This team will be indeed unconventional. For this exercise only, I vote we permit teams of any gender mix! We have gone boy-boy-girl for years. These two have shown _exactly_ what we should be thinking of! Teams of three girls, Teams of three boys, Teams of two girls and a boy... Why do we have to have it always be two boys and a girl?"  
Tenten chuckled. He had, in his own way said 'Stuff the regulations, Let's do what's right for once!'. If she could help out Naruto and Hinata at the same time, it would be even more interesting. As Naruto began his warm-up exercises, she frowned. He was using heavily outdated, and easily countered, taijutsu.  
"Naruto, The way I was being trained, It was designed to work with Lee only able to use taijutsu, so I am pretty good with knowing those forms… Now, What I need you to do is this..." She began, as she outlined how she planned to lead their team through this exercise. She had a lot to prove, and only one day to prove it...

Iruka and the Jounin watched the proceedings with hidden mirth as he stepped aside and let Mizuki and his allies within the teaching staff do what the hell they liked, as he discussed the moving in and out of members of teams within the groups with them. What had been labelled on the scoreboards as Team 10 was becoming the source of indignation within the other side of the room.  
The reason for that? They were demolishing the opposition... without fail, and were the only team that had remained unchanged all exercise.

Early on, Tenten and Hinata acted as a screen through which very few people got through, Naruto's sloppy and outdated taijutsu only coming into use when someone slipped past them. At first, Naruto was itching for those few moments, but he soon was accepting Tenten's judgements, and both Naruto and Hinata were nodding and accepting her instructions, as well as being tested on weapons to supplement their strikes, Naruto ending up with fist daggers, while Hinata accepted a bo staff. Iruka looked thoughtful, as did Neji, who actually was heard to mutter about the fact the staff kept her to strictly melee, but effectively doubled her effective range, allowing her to use one hand for jyuken strikes, while the other held the staff.  
One telling moment was when one of the 'ringers' was about to use a blatantly illegal manoeuvre intended to at least bench Hinata, Naruto body checked them, citing that he had a 'bad encounter' with what he'd been doing, and not all of them had really good healing. Iruka had managed to overrule the judges who declared Naruto's blocking technique was not approved taijutsu, pointing out that the other fighter had already done a technical foul. The most telling thing was that, according to Sakura Haruno, Naruto had initially been pretty much ready to form up as part of the typical 'weak-strong-strong' team, and she could tell, but now…

He was celebrating alongside Hinata and Tenten, as they won another of their matches. Even better, Naruto's team had, discreetly, helped him with the weaknesses in his combat style, and Iruka promptly made a note in his report that, if this team did happen, he expected them to eclipse the three sannin by the time they reached Chunin, and if it didn't, he wanted to know why.  
"Gai, I need to meet with you..." He stated, waving towards Team 10, "I think we have found the solution to the problems we were having,"  
Tenten was thumbing through the pile of missions, picking out clearing out the training areas, for them to stop her.  
"Tenten, you did a very good thing. You solved..." Gai began, then cursed as the inevitable happened while Tenten was distracted. Mizuki had lined Neji up against Hinata, and the red mist had clearly descended. He was striking to harm. Tenten hurried away from them to join Naruto in stepping in to break up the match, Hinata being walked towards the medic, coughing up blood and clearly near death, Tenten's look thunderous. Neji wasn't one of Mizuki's ringers.  
A demand to demote her for stepping in without permission was heard, and a whispered comment from Gai, the quietest he'd ever spoke, suggested that they do demote her, but not for that reason. They had already been planning to slip her into Naruto's team. If they were this solid a team unit in the Academy, once they graduated, they'd be soaring through the ranks, the jounin listing Tenten as a ranged specialist, Hinata as the close range fighter and scout, and Naruto's pranks turning him into a devastating trap specialist.  
"Iruka, I wish to make that arrangement I did with Lee permanent. I have a feeling my original team plans are about to get ruined by something most unyouthful..." Gai muttered, as ranks began to close, not against Naruto, but Neji...

"Kiba, I have a question for you… If that was Hana, would you be still beating her up when clearly she needs medic nin attention?" Naruto was asking slowly, while holding Neji's hand in a vice grip. A few of the less radical judges were muttering about the fact he wasn't even winded doing so. A few of the more radical ones were also noting that Naruto was ready to kill for what had happened in that fight, and a few handed messages to Mizuki before getting up, and he looked very pale.  
They'd pulled the fox's tail and none of them wanted to deal with the results. Naruto had endeared himself to a lot of people when he acted the role of 'concerned citizen', and most of them knew that this wasn't a demon talking, this was a ninja of the leaf. This was someone who would fight for them, and all they needed to do was support him… so every single one of the hand-picked judges were backing Naruto.  
"Are you nuts?!" Kiba snapped, "Never mind that she's family, I'd be cleaning out the kennels for weeks if she told me I caused one of her nin-dogs to be in the vet for the next month, and I'd not get as far as that baka did without getting one of them attempting to rip out my throat. I'd probably lose Akamaru if she or one of her dogs died because of me, and that would be the second-worst thing possible!"  
"And I know what the first would be… Neji Hyuga, You were going to be recommended for my team, with Tenten and Lee as your teammates..." Gai stated, his tone losing the jovial exuberance he was known for, Tenten looking up at the mention of her name, "Due to circumstances, I will not be making that team recommendation. One of them is Tenten would be heart-broken to give up on her new friends. The other… She may not be a dog, but Kiba's point stands. May I have Neji's permanent academy records?"

After a brief search, one of the teachers gave it him, for Gai to not even open it, simply lighting up a simple flame jutsu, before dropping it in the bin. The message was obvious. Neji had broke a cardinal rule of the village. He'd engaged in an attempt at cold blooded murder of a fellow ninja of the Leaf. He wasn't just getting sent back a year or more. He was permanently expelled from the Academy. A folder was taken out, and a standard academy file sheet filled out, purely for clerical reasons, a red ink bottle being taken out, as Gai wrote a comment… 'High risk to allies. NOT recommended for further training,'  
"Be thankful it's just expulsion and your grades being annulled… We do not go round assassinating our allies..." Gai stated firmly, one of the judges putting up a hand, for him to add, almost sheepishly, "Except where a mission requires it, like when they go nuke-nin, but both of you are on the same side… This was a friendly training exercise. If she does die… Well, I wouldn't want to be you..."  
"You have no business interfering with clan business..." Neji growled at both Naruto and Gai, not really noticing over half the room was giving him looks that could kill. His callous attitude meant, even if he hadn't been expelled, no-one would team with him. He wasn't even showing remorse. Naruto had been right. If it was _their_ family who they had got picked against, it would be a friendly spar, not that decimation. If it had been something like the Chunin Exams, it wouldn't be a problem, Team members fought Team members to be the winner of the exhibitional tournament, but now...  
"Oh, Clan business? In that case, After this is over, you, me and the Hokage will be marching up to Hiashi, and asking him if you were hired by a clan member to assassinate Hinata..." Iruka stated, pausing before adding, "If you did it off your own back, well… I doubt you will be seen again, while if you were hired... You might become a ninja in a few years..."  
"Naruto, since you're fit to spar, and Team 10's leader is busy with the other member, You will spar with Neji… If Hinata is cleared by the medic-nin, the winner will be given the option of doing a match with her before we break to give time for Iruka to deal with this… little incident..." Mizuki abruptly stated, and Iruka knew what Mizuki was doing, even as Gai reluctantly agreed. He discussed with Gai that Tenten would be assigned to Naruto's team, even as he considered what would likely happen.  
"He is not a ninja of the leaf!" Gai snapped, "By what right does he have to be given this spar?"  
Naruto simply got ready to fight, looking Gai in the eye as he spoke.  
"Gai, He hurt one of my precious people... He attacked one of my allies... He attempted to murder a ninja of the Leaf," Naruto stated, "I once heard one of my guards say that he who abandons their team mates is trash… Well, I guess I have two really good reasons to give Neji one last fight... No kid gloves. I have a nuke-nin to put down... Someone pen a mission for the immediate capture and/or termination of Neji Hyuga,"

Kakashi's eyebrow retreated into his hairline. Naruto had quoted one of his life lessons. Even if he wasn't likely to be Team 10's Jounin instructor, Naruto had learned the lesson of Team Minato's fall. Meanwhile, Iruka looked towards Mizuki, as Naruto's 'mission' was made official, and it went from a sparring match to the subduing of a nuke-nin.  
He could see Mizuki talking with Neji. Likely Mizuki hoped both Naruto and Hinata ended up in a pine box. Neji had nothing to lose but his life, and he'd die satisfied whatever required him to kill her had been fulfilled, so he was right now the second most dangerous thing in the room. Naruto however, with the fact he'd literally asked for the Jounin to authorise the immediate termination of Neji as a nuke-nin was the first.  
However, if Naruto did win, He'd throw the match with Hinata after Neji was taken off to be likely encouraged to commit seppuku by a very angry father, if not taken to ANBU for the same, and both Hinata and Tenten would be positively glued to Naruto's sides for the rest of his career, maybe even longer if he judged things right. Naruto did have both the Uzumaki and the Namikaze bloodlines to continue, and two very nice girls who would stick by him.  
When Neji went in with the same techniques as earlier, he became even more convinced this was the culimination of Mizuki's entire quickly thought out plan. What, however, surprised them was that Naruto had clearly watched the earlier fight, since he was holding his own, the jyuken strikes falling off target and causing a few winces from Naruto as a less important part of his chakra pathways was disrupted.  
Even when it did hit right, Naruto made a wild strike to force Neji to move back and fail to capitalize. Hinata was even watching every miss or scrape, as Naruto made it look easy to deal with Neji, Tenten looking smug from the sidelines. Their man was doing exactly what they wanted from him. The former self-proclaimed Hyuga Genius was being dismantled before his inevitable and ignominious death. However, when the fight ended, No-one was sure what happened.  
After a strike went wild, scraping against his stomach, Naruto began screaming, clawing at it as chakra began erupting from him, Neji shaking his hand in pain.  
Hinata got up, wincing as she studied Naruto's chakra pathways to try to stabilize it, pausing, doing several jyuken strikes, frowning, before doing another set, then everyone heard a loud crack as she finally found the right spot, before there was an odd smell, similar to after a lightning jutsu, as Naruto and Hinata were flung into opposing walls, both sliding down and leaving a bloody streak.  
"Get them to the hospital NOW," Iruka snapped, "Neji Hyuga, you just earned yourself the one meeting with the Hokage that you don't leave. Get me Ibiki, and tell him and Hiashi to meet me upstairs... I don't fucking care if you had an accomplice right now... Naruto did the right thing when he had that mission drawn up..."

He didn't need to look to know why they left a bloody streak. She'd managed to fix the disruption, undoubtedly to part of what kept the seal for the Kyuubi stable, and that much chakra involved in something like that...  
If she was immensely lucky, she'd have not flash blinded herself, and had only reopened the wounds she'd got from Neji in the first place. But he doubted it. More likely, she'd killed herself when the unstable chakra went off like a bomb right next to her, and the impact just finished her off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will state that the nature of what happened to the seal is more using the fact the Naruto universe is very fast and loose with what can and can't damage seals. In this case, It was something akin to when a plastic bottle or similar ends up getting a slight scratch that shouldn't damage it, but you still get a leak.
> 
> A rather poor taste joke in some series is to have someone get badly electrocuted when they act as a bridging element for a massive amount of electricity. I think you can figure out the rest.


	3. Hidden In Plain Sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I haven't killed Naruto and Hinata. In fact, The real story begins now with the fallout from that training exercise. I will admit that the pairings will be Sasuke/Karin and Naruto/Hinata/Tenten… To tell you any more would spoil some things, but I will state that the team isn't done yet.

As Neji's corpse was dragged off to be burned, Iruka was sat in a meeting with Sarutobi, who looked at him with no amount of worry.  
"So, What went wrong, beyond Neji deciding that, since his cousin was the bane of his existence, he should get rid of her there and then… Hiashi was quite literally furious at just that," Sarutobi asked, as he poured some green tea for them both, "All I know is that anyone even remotely chakra-sensitive abruptly began packing, since they're afraid the Kyuubi is returning..."  
"Mizuki brought in a group of ringers. I pulled their files on the way here. They were failed graduates due to violent dispositions and enjoying the killing..." Iruka stated, "He practically was attempting to assassinate Naruto by simply beating him to death… But that wasn't what caused the chakra surge. A surprise team assignment wrecked that,"  
"Continue… And I might end up having Ibiki meet with Mizuki on the fact he misled people into the nature of his part with the organization of the tests… I already had every single one of the judges finger him on something, and you confirmed what," Sarutobi stated, before, gravely, he added, "I would look into a replacement for his position in the Academy,"  
"I think you know of Neji's part in it..." Iruka stated, as they looked towards where a head had lain on top of a fresh towel a few minutes earlier, Neji's corpse meeting a flame jutsu, "Naruto broke up the fight between him and Hinata to demonstrate why we show restraint in sparring. But it was what happened in the following fight..."  
"And what, pray tell, was that?" Sarutobi asked, his hand trembling as he tried not to think about what likely happened.  
"Neji accidentally damaged part of the chakra matrix holding the seal when he was sparring with Naruto using mildly excessive force," Iruka stated, "Hinata Hyuga attempted a jyuken strike to stop the chakra release..."  
"Ah… Yes, Well..." Sarutobi stated, his hands shaking visibly. He didn't need to think about it. The worst nearly had happened. Neji had damaged the seal, and the Kyuubi's chakra was leaking. Hinata had no idea what it was, and had tried to stabilise it, only to get quite a shock when the leak was plugged.  
"The medic nin who picked up Naruto and Hinata mentioned that they would do all they could, but they didn't expect to be doing much other than presenting Hinata's body for visitation, before it is cremated, while they expect Naruto MIGHT pull through, but they doubt he'll ever mould chakra again..." Iruka stated, "If they're wrong, and I damn well hope so, here's my report. I managed to get it done despite the sabotage."  
Sarutobi looked over the recommendations with only a cursory glance, the glowing report on what was being nicknamed Team Naru-Hina-Ten, Team 10 and Team Hunt, similar to the previous 'band of brothers' the sannin had been, the current version being Ino-Shika-Cho, put to one side, Gai called in to tell him to look into a third team member for Lee and Tenten if Naruto and Hinata didn't recover. This was not how he envisioned the after-class report going, but, from what had happened before Iruka's distraction, the job Iruka had been doing had still been done. Naruto had his perfect team. They just needed to survive.

The sun rose to the sight or Neji's head, it's eyelids sewn shut, on display, a sign beneath explaining that he'd gone against the Will Of Fire, allowing his own personal agenda to make him think pre-meditated murder of those who trusted him within the village was acceptable. A comment by Ibiki made Sarutobi darkly chuckle, about the fact that whoever assisted Itachi Uchiha would be tried for the same crime if they caught them.  
However, right now, he was in the hospital, checking up on the two potential corpses that had once been very promising students. As he entered, he was pleasantly surprised to see Tenten, the only, literally, standing member of Team Naru-Hina-Ten, one of the greatest teams he'd seen since the Yamanaka, Akamichi and Nara clans formed a team together. He considered what he'd tell her, having just come out of a meeting with Kakashi and Kurenai.  
She'd positively been drooling at the information she'd found about the synergy between Tenten and Hinata, and outright demanded, if Hinata or Naruto recovered, that three-man cell was rebuilt as well as they could. She had been planning to make Hinata her magnum opus, and a team like this was perfect for her to train.  
"Officially, due to conduct unbecoming of a kunoichi, you have been sent back a year," He stated, "Unofficially, they've basically played right into me and Iruka's hands in how they punished you for screwing up Mizuki's plans. You will be starting in Naruto's… former class from next week. If they recover… I think you know your team assignment after you graduate. I thought Ino-Shika-Cho would be the greatest team in the coming years. You proved me wrong in one day, You were in the greatest team _now_, and Neji seemingly killed it,"  
She nodded and followed him into Naruto's room. Once in there, Tenten noticed with some pleasure that the horrific injuries were mostly healed up, and the medic-nin, carefully screened, had noted that there had been no 'additional' injuries compared to his last check-up, Tenten looking happy about the fact. Sending her for an errand, he checked the seal to find it had repaired itself, the seal matrix having rearranged into a new pattern that, if he was not seeing things, was much more secure and would be more stable in the long term.  
Heading for Hinata's room, he passed by a Hyuga nurse, the milky white eyes a dead giveaway, assuming she'd be reporting her findings to the same person who had mounted Neji's head up on display just for the lingering fact Hinata was potentially best case 'medically unfit for deployment', worst case being why Hiashi had Neji executed in the traditional way. When he arrived at Hinata's room, it was almost like she was sleeping, with no signs of injury. He was about to leave, satisfied, when he felt something off about it.  
"Why would she be fast asleep if the nurse had just left with only minimal monitoring? And why can't I see even scars from her injuries?" He mused, doing a few mental checks, "A genjutsu. Discreet, very much passive and intended to basically keep people from studying the room too hard… Of course, for me, it's easily noticeable,"  
He made the handsigns for a low-level area-effect dispel, for the genjutsu to collapse soundlessly, the room now showing a very much awake and clearly healthy Hinata, playing a simple card game, the most notable thing being the white fox cub that was watching and seeming playing against her, there being only mild scarring from her injuries.  
"Ahem..." Sarutobi coughed, "So, Any particular reason…?"  
"Oh shit, We're in trouble..." The fox visibly stated, before Hinata looked towards him, clearly trying to hide the fact the fox spoke first.  
"How do you like my new ventr..." She began, then sighed as Sarutobi glared at her, "Sorry, Kit, He's not buying it..."  
"White foxes are rare enough… Especially since people can't seem to stop hunting them around Konohagakure, _despite_ several attempts at hunting bans," Sarutobi stated, "A fox cub without any visible parent… Wouldn't happen unless there was a good reason..."  
"OK, We'll be honest then…" Hinata stated, softly and evenly, "I did actually die due to what Neji did, as well as my own foolishness. But Inari met with me as I was about to pass on… She was pleasantly surprised at how well me and N-N-..."  
"Naruto-kun..." Kit stated, looking towards the ceiling as if it was used to Hinata's stammer developing.  
"Yes, Naruto-kun worked together..." Hinata finished, blushing, taking out a closed fan from somewhere and lightly tapping the fox on the head, "I'm getting better!"  
"Thankfully, In Hinata's case, she managed to correct a compounded mistake..." The fox stated, "And it wasn't that kitsune hanyou don't just happen… They're rare, but male kitsune happen. They just don't get out much. Too many female kitsune..."  
Both Sarutobi and Hinata lightly blushed at that comment. It was clear the fox wasn't shy about admitting about several things Hinata wouldn't say without blushing and stammering. Hinata hit the fox again with the fan at the way it had brazenly stated that a male kitsune was too busy with their multiple wives.  
"Ahem. What Kit is really…She is the embodiment of my personal Blessing from Inari..." Hinata stated, putting her hand towards the fox for it to seem to flow into her hand, a pair of fox ears sprouting out of her hair as the bedding behind her begin to shift from side to side in even strokes, the ears disappearing as Kit reappeared.

Sarutobi didn't need to see anything else. He knew why the bedding shifted. If someone saw them merged, Naruto would be strung up in moments for corrupting the clan heiress, and she'd escape Konoha to somewhere receptive to foxes, ending up a reclusive miko. The fact she could transfer her vixen features into something that wouldn't be killed, except if you wanted to be brought up in front of the daimyo with a huge fine or worse, was explanation enough. Even if there was a general ban on worshipping Inari after she 'cursed' the village, fox hunting without a license was not permitted, and killing foxes with unnaturally white fur...  
The warning came with a huge fine from the representative of the followers of Inari, and repeat offences usually had the daimyo take the person aside and they gave 'a life for a life', begging forgiveness for murdering Inari's kin. And that was if you _did_ have a license...

"So, this blessing..." Sarutobi began, Hinata stopping him so she could continue.  
"As you noticed, Inari made me into one of her youkai which, due to her nature, meant I ended up as a kitsune," Hinata continued, "It restored me to full health, and was completely voluntary. Admittedly, I'd have not agreed if it wasn't for the fact, as the holder of the main contract with Inari, Naruto will be around for… quite a long time. I do not intend to leave him..."  
"Right..." Sarutobi began, knowing that a youkai, undisturbed, could live for centuries, only for Tenten to arrive, looking at Kit, who looked at her. As Kit noticed her, the fox got a look like a deer in headlights at her expression of joy, shortly before she was scooped up and snuggled.  
"Y_ou are adorable!_" She squealed, before, regaining her composure, she stated, "Ahem, You were saying something?"  
Hinata looked at Kit, who nodded to her, before Hinata looked towards Tenten. "Tenten, why don't you go get the fox some chicken..." Hinata declared, Tenten nodding before cooing over the small fox.  
A few minutes after Tenten had left, Hinata got a box of cinnamon rolls out from the bedside cupboard. "One problem with this Blessing… Yes, She's adorable, yes, chicken is a fox delicacy, but I'm now hungry!" Hinata grumbled, as she tore a chunk off one of the cinnamon rolls and started eating.  
"How can you be hungry?… Wait, So, the fox cub..." Sarutobi asked, Hinata nodding.  
"She is basically an extension of my being, as well as my kitsune abilities… I am currently both here and in the hospital cafeteria, with Tenten being hopelessly enamoured with the fact of that, with Kit being so young, she can't help but be cute..." Hinata stated, polishing off a cinnamon roll, rolling her eyes at something before she continued, "Anyway, The Blessing… Inari originally, as part of an arrangement, created an ambassador, in the form of a one-tailed fox who would develop and grow alongside a demi-human patron, their divine half taking the form of the ambassador..."  
"Like Kit and you?" Sarutobi asked, feeling something was not yet being said about all this as Hinata got another cinnamon roll, muttering about how much Tenten was spending, and how she didn't waste hard-earned mission pay on chicken strips.  
"Yes, pretty much..." Hinata offered once she'd dealt with the need to snack, "Due to a breach in the arrangement, caused by someone meddling with the patrons, the ambassadors were basically handed down to the next patron in line, instead of what is meant to happen… Kit will grow to become the one who will bear my name after Inari takes me and Naruto to hold eternal communion with her..."  
"While Naruto has the same Kyuubi no Kitsune that the previous 'nine-tail jinchuriki' had..." Sarutobi guessed.  
"Had. It's rather haphazard departure was what killed us both," Hinata corrected, "Admittedly, He's not exactly single-tailed himself… The former nine-tailed bijuu has passed on, it's chakra returned to where it was meant to be… Stopping him from having his own chakra following it out was what killed me… For all intents and purposes, the seal is effectively empty, only there to sustain the habitat it formed… I'll form one with time, I'm thinking of having the seal itself on my upper back, but Naruto's seal is acceptable for now,"  
She then paused, putting the cinnamon rolls away. After that, Tenten came back in, Kit jumping back onto Hinata's bed, looking satisfied, Hinata motioning for Sarutobi to keep quiet.  
"Tenten, What are your intentions towards Naruto?" Hinata asked, her voice sounding different, having a noticeable timbre, her whole presence seeming larger.  
"Well, Nothing at first, but, when I noticed what was happening with the ringers, I decided to lend the one person most likely to need my help, well, some help..." Tenten offered, kicking out at thin air as she considered it, "What I got was amazing. I feel like, being one of those who ignored Naruto, and let things like that happen, I wronged him. I wronged you, siding with Neji… I made so many bad choices, only for you to show me, in one short period, what I was shunning. How can I make up all my mistakes to you?"  
"You have an honest heart, which wants what Hinata already has… You will have many many years to repent of those sins you helped cause..." Hinata stated, implying this wasn't Hinata herself talking, then it was like a light switch was flipped, as Tenten found herself looking at a reddish-furred fox cub, about the same age as Kit, that was sat in her lap, which she was sure hadn't been there before, but she felt was in just the right place now. Well, after some chicken. She could spare the ryo. That E-Rank mission in the training areas had been useful...  
"Tenten, What is the name of your new friend?" Hinata asked, the strange presence having left. Tenten looked at it thoughtfully, before sighing and shrugging.  
"I don't know, but, right now, her and Kit are going to get expensive for me… I cannot afford to keep getting..." She began, the fox cub looking up at her, "OK, You're hungry, I'm still a bit hungry… Maybe feeding most of the chicken to Kit was a bad idea..."  
All the fox did was yawn cutely, and she headed off to go coo over it, not worried in the slightest that there was a strange fox cub in her company. Only that it was adorable, it was hungry, and there were still chicken strips in the hospital cafeteria.  
"And that is the Blessing," Hinata stated simply, "Probably, some time from now, that fox will give her the bullet points of what I told you, and her, Kit and Naruto's fox partner will become fast friends… both with Tenten and the local chicken supplier,"  
"When the fur lightens off, She will be capable of the tricks Hinata can do..." Kit explained, "It won't be any time soon… She was Blessed, but she has a lot of things which are stopping her just accepting it totally… That's why it's red furred and doesn't speak… It can shapeshift, but only in our presence, since we'll give it a leg up,"  
"Surprising… I was sure that the tailed beasts were offshoots of..." Sarutobi began to muse, for Kit to glare, her fur rising up, her growl cutting him off.  
"Now, Now, He wasn't to know..." Hinata declared, soothing the angry fox, "Inari already forgave me for that oversight..."  
"Datara is the reason why the Blessing exists in the form it does," Kit offered, yawning before asking, "Tell me… How do you gift something that is a natural part of the processes called living, and how can you give it back?"  
"I don't know h… Ah," Sarutobi stated, thinking about how it was claimed 'chakra' came from Datara, but sages like Jiraiya had pretty much proved that wasn't likely the case, "Let's leave that. Back to you. So, At an unknown date in the future, hopefully long after I should have passed on of old age, You, Naruto, and presumably Tenten now, will join Inari forever..."  
"While Kit will take on my identity, appearance and life goals until..." Hinata began, starting counting before she sighed, "It would not be a time measured in years… More like centuries,"  
"Unlike the 'Kyuubi', I will not need to be sealed into the next person in line. That system's outright broken," Kit explained, "One day, I will visit, in Hinata's form, a kind, gentle and pious girl, who will gain a lifelong friend, almost exactly like myself, who will guide her towards a happy and safe future, taking on her responsibilities when the time comes... then she will, one day, follow in my example…"  
"Kit herself will, once she no longer needs to be me, find a nice temple and become one of it's fox guardians, while, in the spirit realm, she will meet with me and tell me of how the world has changed since I passed into the celestial realm..." Hinata finished.  
"So, The whole debacle with what happened with Minato and Kushina?" Sarutobi asked, Kit nodding.  
"More than likely, The hosts did have an eternal companion who was poised to carry on their legacy, only for their companion to pass away, and causing their own life to be cut short," Kit mused, "If the Blessing is broken, either by the host dying or the tails being, ahem, shall we say… cut off, then the Blessing will leave the remaining member, the chain broken. If Hinata was wounded severely enough that she died… again, I'd revert to a normal fox in moments. Hinata doesn't have that choice, due to how she took on the blessing,"  
"So, if, say, someone was to pull the Kyuubi out of someone and send it on a rampage, if they were both to die..." Sarutobi asked, wincing slightly at the fact Hinata would live for a very long time… Unless Kit died, where she'd revert back to how she was before then. And that would not be pretty at all.  
"Yes, and we suspect this Madara fellow works for them. Thankfully, Neither _strictly_ did, thanks to that seal..." Kit mused, Sarutobi's eyebrow raising at how she put it, "I'm going to go save Tenko from a fate worse than death… Chicken coma… and suggest that name for the fox as well... I'll pick up the usual..."  
Hinata nodded, and the fox morphed into the nurse he'd walked right past earlier, revealing exactly how Kit had been hiding.

A short time later, the 'nurse' discreetly had him leave, and the illusion snapped back up as Hinata began to go back to her game, the nurse appearing out of nowhere with a clipboard, pointing at where he'd need to sign to clear her for duty eventually, looking very sheepish as she did.  
"Whoops, forgot that," She stated, "She'll be out of here by tomorrow morning, after I've finished her lessons..."  
Sarutobi didn't want to know what her 'lessons' entailed, only that it wasn't anything that would be released to the public. How would he spin it that the entire of Team Hunt were kitsune?!


	4. Graduation Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter needed the most rewrites after the narrative got hit by my muse in an odd way. For one, Tenten wasn’t involved in the original idea, and the Naru-Hina-Ten team wasn’t even planned. But that’s why you should never trust a muse. Unless you know quite how to feed it properly. My muse apparently needs regular chicken infusions.
> 
> The reason for the somewhat huge time skip between the incident and the present day is that nothing huge happens differently, outside of the changed mindset of Hinata and Tenten. Tenko _will_ become white, Naruto and Hinata will recover miraculously and suchlike, but I’m not going to do a chapter of purely effectively diary entries just to satisfy a need to know. The first chapter was broke in half since I did leave a lot unsaid, but here, I don’t need to say it.

Sarutobi finished his rounds by checking a theory, and found a fox asleep under Naruto’s bed, well, a tail sticking out a Ichiraku’s takeout box while snoring. Yes, the Kyuubi situation was resolved, his last stop outright was where the ‘nurse’ was telling Tenten that, yes, Tenko was adorable, but she had to stop sitting feeding chicken pieces to foxes in the cafeteria.

“But Tenko likes it, and I like it...” Tenten offered, then yawned, “And I don’t know why, but I feel very tired...”

One of the hospital beds soon was dealing with Tenten, since she was out like a light. And Tenko finished munching the chicken with the help of the other two nurses later. Naruto’s partner was easily told by the fact she had a chicken ramen cup in her free hand.

“So, Why are you a girl?” Sarutobi hissed at her when he approached them.

“Tradition. Naruto passively morphed into a version of me when he did the hentai jutsu,” She offered, then, picking up a can of soda from the table, “To Kushina and Kurama, They so earned their meeting with Inari. Long may they both live...”

Sarutobi joined in the toast, smiling. Even if Naruto didn’t know his parents, clearly the kitsune who was part of his new abilities knew her and respected her. He did however wonder why, again, Naruto’s partner was sure they _weren’t_ dead.

After she got back, Hiashi greeted his daughter, before taking her to a private room, not noticing the vixen sneak into the kitchens. Hinata had already told her to not get too much to eat, she wasn’t going to be snacking during the meeting. Tummy rubs and head pats were fine, but she was to wait until after the meeting before raiding the kitchen’s chicken stores. After confirming all the branch members in the kitchens were of the type who kept doctrine with Inari, she sat on her knees in front of him, head bowed.

"Mizuki was discovered to be slipping information on the current group of students in his year to an enemy group..." Hiashi stated, "When he put you in danger, he sealed his fate. Shortly after he confessed to his crimes, he was used as a demonstration to the branch family…"

"How so, father?" Hinata asked, both her and Kit having a good idea of how from what they'd discussed during her time in private with Kit.

"Let's just say that other groups within Konohagakure hope that a Hyuga joins them, in order that certain Hyuga techniques can be used to deal with people who need monitoring..." Hiashi stated, both of them understanding why vague terms were used. Branding potential traitors with the Caged Bird seal meant any plans for leaving the village with sensitive information would end with their sudden, abrupt death. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t nice, but they lived in a ninja village. Pretty and nice were for civilians. Swift and invariably lethal was the ninja way.

"So, what do you wish to discuss?" Hinata asked, for him to beckon towards a specially modified training dummy, a simple chakra powered timer attached to it. She knew the exercise. If a Hyuga completely sealed off all the chakra flowing through the dummy, the clock would shut off automatically. If even a small trickle got to it when it ran out, a buzzer would sound, and it would begin tracking how much they delayed completing the exercise. Hinata knew what he wanted to see, and what he expected to see.

"You have 30 seconds," He simply said, setting the time. Hinata thought about how Naruto had almost been killed because she allowed herself to be weak, how she'd had to save him, and at how Tenten had so much conviction that she would be there for her as much as they both were for Naruto. Her hands darted out towards the dummy, Hinata hearing small popping sounds, then she opened her eyes, blinking. The clock showed 25 seconds, and hadn't changed. Clearly, she had a reason, not related to her father, to no longer hold back.

"That was... acceptable..." Hiashi coughed, visibly stunned, "You may go..."

She managed to barely stop the branch members in the kitchen from spoiling Kit, before she went to bed, dreaming of when she sat next to Naruto for their wedding. Surprisingly, unlike most of these dreams, she saw Tenten on the opposite side, in an identical outfit. And she had this feeling that, if she asked Tenten, she would admit to have had the inverse of the same dream, all three of them with several tails. Oddly, they saw a third girl, not a kitsune… but a Yuki-Onna, there as well.

Over the following months, the dynamic within Konoha changed, thanks to the efforts of Kit and Tenko to ensure their respective charges proved themselves worthy of their new status, as well as Hinata’s realisation that death could come any day if she continued on her old path.

Hinata quickly became known as 'silk hiding steel' within her classes, the 'lightning fist strike' she had accidentally invented being kept secret, with her grades becoming easily the top of the class, due to her both mastering her infiltration classes and her combat classes. When her father asked her if she was planning on filling the role he needed in T&I, she discreetly rebuffed him, before giving a cat smile as she gave this response...

"What would it mean, if the secretary of the Hokage, who looks like some meek and quiet girl, could, without losing her visible temperament, demolish a particularly abrasive individual before they can get to the Hokage?" She had asked.

He smiled, realizing that she was literally stating that, one day, she would be the woman behind the man, her taijutsu skills being used to ensure the leader of the village wouldn't be disturbed by any 'mere' S-rank ninja who wanted to 'talk' to him. And the ‘conversation’ they would have… would be final.

Meanwhile, Tenten was in discussions with Kit and Naruto’s familiar, who currently went by the name Kiki, a bastardization of the Kuku she initially suggested, a reference to Kushina and Kurama, over weapons that her teammates would find useful. A suggestion was made over Hinata being taught the Uzumaki chain style, which had caused Kiki to disappear out of the village for a few days, before it was approved, while Naruto ended up with a pair of hand claws. Unsubtle, inherently lethal and able to be, at a pinch, swapped to Hinata at great effect.

She quietly had admitted to herself that the claws could be switched to her as well, but she also carried round enough weapons that, if all hell broke loose, she could equip an army from her equipment scrolls, so she didn’t actually _need_ a primary offensive weapon. The only reason the chains and claws were there for Hinata and Naruto respectively was to shore up their own combat weaknesses, Hinata over the fact she had almost zero range, and Naruto over the fact he didn’t _need_ range, but his melee was terrible.

As plans were being finalized by both girls, a different conversation was going on.

“So, Team HNT is going ahead...” Kurenai stated, “I strongly wish to recommend they end up as a team under myself...”

“I can easily approve that,” Sarutobi agreed, “Kakashi, You will be getting Sasuke, Kiba and Sakura. Your unique position within the village means you are the only person who can really be used to train Sasuke at this time.”

“I understand Hokage...” Kakashi stated, “Can we be sure that Naruto will pass?”

“Naruto's grades have not been the worst, by any stretch...” His new personal assistant stated, pushing up her glasses as she apparently studied the information in front of her, “However, several teachers have found issues with his recent use of unauthorized techniques...”

The assistant was one of Kit's numerous nondescript shape changes, her appearance that of a short brunette with slightly oversized glasses and a terrible problem with tripping up over her own feet.

What stunned Sarutobi more than the fact she was the girl was the fact she made a completely believable ditzy assistant, crashing into people regularly and apologizing all the time, apparently channelling Hinata’s old personality for her own benefit. Notably, every single time Kit crashed into someone, he found out later they’d been spies or similar and they’d been picked up by ANBU minutes later.

Tenko and ‘Kiki’ were both unsuitable for the job for various reasons, Tenko having helped Tenten invent a kunai launcher, which had been classified as an S-Rank restricted weapon moments later, when bored as an example in one case, and the fact ‘Kiki’ was _still_ in a work-safe version of Naruto’s sexy henge being the other reason.

“Yes, We know about that he doesn't use handsigns any more, and several sensei have attempted to make the same accusation of the other members of his embryonic team...” Sarutobi stated, chewing on the end of his pipe, which wasn't lit due to the village’s new kitsune having a policy about his smoking, “The fact her father keeps reminding them of what happened to Mizuki is why they keep hounding Naruto rather than the other two...”

“I do want to potentially pilot you helping me train Sakura as a medic/genjutsu specialist,” Kakashi offered, “I suspect your own team will practically teach themselves...”

“I do admit to wanting to fast track Kurenai’s team into their own dedicated cell without the use of a jounin sensei,” Sarutobi considered, “I will let you know when there is a suitable C-Rank mission, but for now, keep an eye on them. They’re much more skilled than expected...”

A few days later, he got confirmation. Naruto, Hinata and Tenten had all passed, with a particular note about the fact that, after his accident, Naruto’s chakra control had improved immensely, with his previous problem with things like clones practically gone.

“Well, Unlike previously, Naruto isn’t dealing with the Kyuubi’s chakra spiking… and even if he did, Kiki spends all her free time in the kitchen of Ichiraku’s,” Kit offered, Sarutobi nodding. The fact Kiki was becoming a more than acceptable ramen cook was nothing to do with why she spent hours there, considering she was paid partially in chicken skewers.

On team selection day, Sarutobi sat in front of what was a much more capable group. The Mundane Utility Task program had allowed them to spot major problems with the ninja much faster. Notably, Shino Aburame had one last sparring match between him and Kiba, since they both knew they were the options for the third slot in Team 7. The loser got the third slot, while the winner was cycled out of the academy.

“Team 7 will be Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Kiba Inuzuka...” Sarutobi stated, no-one having any illusions about why the team assignments seemed to have rearranged, “Your sensei will be here eventually,”

“Oh great, we’ve got Kakashi...” Kiba quipped, knowing exactly why they effectively had to sit waiting for the sensei to arrive, getting a pack of cards out of a pouch. Even during the MUT sessions, Kakashi had never arrived during the sparring matches. So the ninja who were assigned to him usually played cards.

“Team 8 will be Hinata Hyuga, Naruto Uzumaki and Tenten. Your sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi,” He continued, “Team 9 will be Ino, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akamichi, and your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi,”

“Shino Aburame will be kept on standby in case of a team being short a member, or losses in the field,” Iruka stated.

“Due to recent changes in the academy, you will not be given a teamwork exercise,” Kurenai stated, “We already _know_ your team-based skills… Hell, We already know you are an unbreakable team,”

Naruto considered the claws he used to improve his taijutsu, while Hinata nodded and Tenten considered the belt Naruto had made her, on which she had several secondary seals which she could unseal one of her weapons without touching the big obvious scroll on her back.

Her tapping her belt and tossing a set of throwing stars or daggers she’d just unsealed into her hand would allow her to make a strike during those precious early seconds of a fight, instead of needing to use one of her disposable scrolls.

Once they were out of earshot, Kurenai went “OK, Where are the three terrors?”

“Double-K is in Ichiraku, helping them out with a difficult order,” Naruto stated.

“Tenko is currently in one of the manga stores looking into the latest chapter of Toriyama’s Tales Of Son Goku...” Tenten stated.

“Kit is currently in a briefing with the Hokage, and will be busy later investigating suspicions about Danzo Shimura...” Hinata finished.

Kurenai blinked, as she realised something. The Hokage had got a new assistant, shortly after Hinata’s hospital stay. Hinata outright stated her familiar was with the Hokage...

“Hinata, Does your familiar go round as a brunette girl with glasses and two left feet?” Kurenai stated, Hinata twiddling her thumbs and nodding, “OK, So Naruto’s fox is exactly where he could pick her up at a moment’s notice, Tenten’s is busy reading shonen manga and you have planted a member of your cell in the Hokage’s office!”

“Mine was excluded for the fact her bored periods involve her trying to recreate things she reads of in manga,” Tenten admitted, “Naruto’s was excluded since she has almost no ability to focus on anything for longer than five minutes...”

“Unless it’s lightly seasoned chicken on a stick or with noodles...” Naruto offered, “She can watch that all day...”

“She works full time at a ramen stall...” Tenten growled, “It’s the only job she can hold down without getting bored of it… and even then, they pay her out of the stock!”

“Point taken...” Naruto stated.

“OK, We’ll be doing some D-Rank missions. If I even get a whiff of you going anywhere near any of your partners before you’ve finished your missions, I’ll mark you down for the day...” Kurenai stated, “They have their jobs, you have yours… Naruto, That does effectively mean Mission first, lunch later!”

A short time later, Sarutobi looked across at the Jonin, looking towards Gai first, an annoyed Kit being left outside and told to deal with the Hokage’s paperwork.

“Lee has been the model student. As part of his training regime, he moved into my home, so he can get extra training in!” Gai declared, “It makes a sensei proud!”

Sarutobi smiled. Gai had his perfect ‘team’, in that he practically had adopted Rock Lee, something no-one complained about.

“Team 7 is doing acceptably...” Kakashi stated, “Kiba and Sasuke are tolerant of each other, due to both being very alpha personalities, with Sakura breaking their fights up constantly outside of missions. In missions, they invariably turn it into a competition, which Sakura usually reluctantly judges...”

“Ino wakes her teammates up every morning,” Asuma stated, “She’s very much the Team Mother, keeping them under control. When they’re in missions, though, you wouldn’t think they’re the same people. They’re a cohesive unit as soon as it’s needed...”

“Then they go back to their usual habits...” Kurenai stated, “Meanwhile, Team 10 is not having any of those kinds of problems. Naruto is currently doing an unpaid job as the sensei for a trio of children,”

“Before you ask, yes, I am aware, and quietly fired the sensei who was _meant_ to be teaching my grandson the ninja arts...” Sarutobi stated, less than discreetly, “Privately, I plan to make it a paid position when he achieves Chunin,”

“While Hinata does some work as a miko, and Tenten is working at a weapons shop. They have a couple of dead drop locations. I drop a mission assignment into one, within five minutes, they’re meeting me on the way to the mission. I don’t need to have them gather for missions, they are always on duty doing something...” Kurenai finished.

Sarutobi didn’t mention that, once, Kit got assigned as the clerk doing the mission assignments. On those days, Kurenai just picked up the mission slip, and then Kit ‘went to the bathroom’.

“Rubbish,” Kakashi stated, “You couldn’t just have your students arrive here that fast...”

Sarutobi discreetly went to the door, noticing Kit there playing with some kind of flat-screen device, swapping some important paperwork with a request for Team 10 to be there shortly, as Kurenai took the bets. When there was a knock at the door, and Naruto stuck his head in, a couple of minutes later, Kakashi was floored. She’d literally summoned her team, without any sign she did so, literally in minutes.

“I will admit she could only do it that fast due to the fact one of the dead drops is my secretary,” Sarutobi stated, “That’s why she gets sent outside… This is meant to be a private meeting,”

“OK, How does that work?” Kakashi asked, Naruto and Tenten quirking their heads, before they were joined by the secretary, Ichiraku’s new waitress, and an unfamiliar girl who was reading a shonen manga… that all turned into white foxes and slipped onto the shoulders of the members of Team 10, revealing how the ‘dead drops’ worked.

“We all have familiars, who act as contacts for each of us. Sensei drops off the assignment with one of our familiars, or rarely one of us outright, and we contact the others using a special jutsu...” Tenten stated, “The rest of how it works is an S-Rank Secret.”

Sarutobi noted that it was full of white lies, but placated anyone who wanted to scream ‘kitsune’, since familiars were a known quantity for summons. Kakashi and Asuma both looked sheepish about the fact they had to coax their team to work together…

While Kurenai’s team didn’t need it, and had actually used some other method to contact each other _when_ they needed to gather. Otherwise, they were busy doing their own tasks, and even their contact system was _also_ busy doing it’s own task.

If a nuke-nin broke into the village, they’d be in the ideal position to assist… without anyone knowing how.


End file.
